The Calgary Flames made a plethora of moves this offseason, fitting Darryl Sutter's coaching style. If all of their recent acquisitions come close to meeting expectations, the 2021-22 Flames will certainly be a team that is tough to play against.

There is just one big problem. Where will the goals come from? If Brad Treliving is comfortable with the layout of this roster and makes no more moves, Calgary may have to win a lot of low-scoring battles. Of course, that is not necessarily a recipe for success.

Though the Flames possess quality assets in their top-six, it lacks someone who can be consistently counted upon to put the puck in the back of the net. Obviously, that is why a Jack Eichel acquisition makes so much sense for Calgary. Now, there is always a risk that the Flames would be forced to part with too much in a deal to bring in Eichel. Then, the organization runs the risk of creating more holes than before. Ideally, they would love for an internal piece to step up and fill that void.

Enter Sean Monahan...

At one time, Calgary could count upon the 2013 sixth-overall pick to pot close to 30 goals a season. In fact, Monahan has three 30-plus goal seasons during his eight-year career. In two other campaigns, he recorded 27. Even during an overall down-year in 2019-20, Monahan scored 22 goals, eight of them on the power play.

Unfortunately, Monahan saw an even more drastic dip in his production last season. Only scoring 10 goals, four of which were on special teams, simply is not going to cut it for a player expected to center one of the top two lines. On top of it, Monahan has never been a defensively sound player. That became even more apparent last year.

Now, Monahan's drop may have something to do with the Flames asking him to be a player he isn't. At the same time, he is still struggling in the areas he once excelled in.

If he cannot return his pre-2019-20 form, the Flames have a major problem on their hands. To be blunt, the center depth will be borderline awful. At his best, Monahan can be a quality second-line center who could slide up to the top line if need be. At his worst, he might not be worth even placing in the line-up. That really only leaves Lindholm and Backlund as Calgary's two reliable centers, with Backlund being much more of a 3C at this juncture in his career.

The Flames need Monahan to bounce back if they cannot add another top-tier center to their ranks. Obviously, that is no easy task. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to count on that happening. If he continues to trend downward, Calgary will be stuck with a pricey player who is much more detrimental to the roster these days.

During these quiet days of the offseason, Brad Treliving must attempt to find a legitimate top-six center while hopefully moving Monahan's contract in the process. With two more years on his current contract with an AAV of $6.375 million, that will not be easy.

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